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Touring Toronto, Part 1

Exploring a part of town I haven't visited much in the past, I stayed at the Gladstone Hotel on Queen Street West at Dufferin (shown here is a view toward Toronto's downtown on Friday's dreary morning). The area boasts independent shops and cafes and is home to many of the city's hipsters.

The Gladstone Hotel is a hub for history, the arts, and evening entertainment. Built in 1889, the hotel underwent a significant renovation in 2005 that included asking local artists and architects to each design one of its 37 rooms. The lobby features a cafe, bar, and ballroom (where great rooms originally stood). The second hosts gallery space, and the third and fourth floors house additional art as well as all the guest rooms. Connecting all four levels is the original wrought-iron elevator, which dates back to circa 1904. I was amazed by the enthusiasm of the hotel employees who took me up and down in the iron cage; each was eager to tell the story of the building and the elevator and full of genuine pride about the property.

I stayed in room 413, "Combo Moderna", designed by Kelly Palmer and Melanie Zanker. (Check back soon for a slideshow featuring the room and the hotel in greater detail.)

I spent Friday on the University of Toronto campus in a meeting with the Twenty+Change curatorial committee, selecting projects for its third exhibition and publication featuring emerging Canadian design firms. New to me was Willcocks Commons (pictured here), a pedestrian-only section of Willcocks Street that was unveiled in September 2010. Though now devoid of outdoor furniture due to winter weather, the Commons is an exciting example of reclaimed pedestrian space in urban areas.

The TIFF Lightbox opened in September 2010 as the new home for the Toronto International Film Festival. Designed by KPMB Architects, the downtown structure features five cinemas that screen films throughout the year, two galleries, classrooms, and two restaurants. The blue blob is a character from the Tim Burton exhibition.

Next up was a trip down Queen Street West between Bathurst and Ossington streets. In this picture, a regular Toronto sight: the TTC streetcars.

Neat carries all the lifestyle essentials (Bodum for the kitchen, simplehuman for the bathroom, Kartell for the living room), but also a line that was new to me: the LAXseries by Mash Studios. A console from the collection is pictured in the foreground on the right.

Now ready for a snack, we went in search of a coffee shop. Along our way, we spotted a strange little window opening. Inside, presented like an exhibition display, was The Game of Urban Renewal, a faux board game by artist Flavio Trevisan that challenges the user to redesign Toronto's urban landscape, specifically the Regent Park low-income housing project. After a bit of investigation, I discovered the small window slot is in fact a gallery called *QueenSpecific. The goal for exhibiting artists is to "consider the dimensions of the window, the locale, and the potential to engage with the casual passer-by." Trevisan's work sure grabbed my attention and I huddled around the display for a good several minutes. Quite awesome.

Then it was time for a bite. *QueenSpecific was located immediately next to a delicious pastry shop called Dufflet. Here we enjoyed tea and hot chocolates with one of my favorite Canadian treats: a butter tart (it's essentially a single-serving pecan pie, this one drizzled with chocolate).

We also stopped at Made, a shop on Dundas Street West that sells modern Canadian design, created and nearly all fabricated in Canada. The store (and gallery) is housed in a former Chinese herb shop, whose red-and-yellow signs can still be seen through the cut-metal Made signs.

Inside, Made is filled with beautifully crafted designs. The Shinny Standard by Barr Gilmore caught my eye as especially Canadian—it's made of hockey sticks after all. Furniture maker Jason Wheeler's console was also especially attractive and fascinating, as its metal front facade is actually just that: a facade. The entire piece is made of solid wood and wood veneer with the rusted metallic look painted on. Stay tuned for more about Made as well as Part 2 of my tour through Toronto!